U.S. Pat. No. 10,075,495

Some or all of the figures are schematic representations for purposes of illustration. The foregoing information and the following detailed description include illustrative examples of various aspects and implementations, and provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the claimed aspects and implementations. The drawings provide illustration and a further understanding of the various aspects and implementations, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Following below are more detailed descriptions of various concepts related to, and implementations of, methods, apparatuses, and systems for game streaming adaptation solutions. Game streaming adaptation solutions relate to techniques and tools for adapting video game streams and viewer experience based on aggregated user interests and user interactions with streamed video game content. The various concepts introduced above and discussed in greater detail below may be implemented in any of numerous ways as the described concepts are not limited to any particular manner of implementation. Examples of specific implementations and applications are provided primarily for illustrative purposes.

Live game streaming platforms add another dimension to online gaming that can lead to a dramatic increase in online gaming communities. This potential interest in live game streams calls for improvements to user experience beyond video streaming quality. For example, providing video game streaming adaptation based on aggregated user feedback and user interactions with the streamed video content can enhance viewer experience.

Existing live game streaming solutions provide the same content to various users. Some live game streaming platforms offer separate chat solutions with the streamed video, allowing spectators to comment on the game and interact with other spectators. However, the spectators' viewing experience is still passive as viewers do not have much influence on the game content displayed to them. Systems, apparatuses, and methods described herein allow for monitoring viewers interests in, and interactions with, content provided in live video game streaming, and adjusting the streamed content, in real time, based on viewer interests or interactions. For example, the systems, apparatuses, and methods described herein can collect feedback data indicative of viewer response to displayed video game content from a plurality of client devices, analyze the feedback data, and adjust or adapt the video game content streamed to the client devices based on the results of the analysis of the feedback data. The feedback data can include data generated based on chat data from a chat conversation between various viewers, data indicative of viewer interactions with one or more interactive overlays displayed over video frames displayed on the client devices, or a combination thereof. Adjusting the video game content can include switching from one video game stream to another video game stream associated with distinct viewpoint than the first one, combining two or more video game streams, re-streaming a video segment (or a subset of video game frames previously streamed) for replay at the client devices, applying some video editing to a video game stream, or a combination thereof.

Adjusting live video game streaming content based on viewer feedback where thousands of viewers may be involved poses significant technical challenges. The large number of spectators and the amount of feedback data that may be produced by each client device may imply receiving and managing a substantially large amount of feedback data from the client devices. Analyzing such amount of data is technologically challenging and can be computationally costly, and can involve substantially long processing time. Such processing time may be too long to allow for real time adaptation of streamed video game content. Applying separate content adaptations to video game content streamed to separate client devices leads to increased system complexity.

Novel concepts and technological advancements described herein allow for efficient and real time adaptation or adjustment of streamed video game content in live video game streaming. Systems, apparatuses, and methods described herein can support real time adaptation or adjustment of live game streaming for hundreds of thousands or millions of spectators while maintaining healthy states.

Systems, apparatuses, and methods to provide real time adaptation of video game streaming based on aggregated viewer feedback data can include a composing and broadcast system receiving, from a game engine, a plurality of video game streams associated with a respective plurality of viewpoints of an online game. In some embodiments, the composing and broadcast system can select a video game stream of the plurality of video game streams, and transmit a first plurality of video game frames of the selected video game stream to a live streaming system. The live streaming system can stream the first plurality of video game frames to a plurality of spectator client devices. In some embodiments, the composing and broadcast system can transmit a plurality of game data frames to the plurality of spectator client devices. Each game data frame can include positioning data for positioning one or more interactive overlays over a video game frame corresponding to that game data frame. For instance, each game data frame include information indicative of the location(s) of one or more graphical objects in the corresponding video game frame.

In some embodiments, at each spectator client device of the plurality of client devices, an application (e.g., a browser or a gaming application) can play the video sequence received from the live game streaming system. Simultaneously, one or more software scripts (e.g., including a Java script) can cause that client device to display the one or more interactive overlays over each displayed video game frame of the video game frames based on the location(s) of the one or more graphical objects in that displayed video game frame. The one or more software scripts can cause the spectator client device to collect or record user interactions with the one or more interactive overlays. The one or more software scripts can monitor and process chat messages between that client device and other client devices. The one or more scripts can cause the client device to transmit feedback data indicative of user interactions and/or user comments in relation with the displayed video game frames.

The composing and broadcast system can receive feedback data from the plurality of spectator client devices, analyze the feedback data, and determine an aggregate user interest in one or more aspects of the online game (e.g., interest in a specific player avatar, a specific region of the virtual environment of the online game, or specific event of the online game). The composing and broadcast system can determine a set of video game frames associated with the one or more aspects of the video game, and transmit the set of video game frames to the live streaming system for streaming to the plurality of spectator client devices.

FIG. 1is a block diagram illustrating a computer environment100for adapting or modifying streamed video game content in live video games streaming based on cumulative or aggregate spectator feedback or interactions, according to some embodiments. The computer environment100can include a plurality of player client devices110, a game engine120, a composing and broadcast system130, a live streaming system140, and a plurality of spectator client devices150. The game engine120can include a network engine122, a gameplay engine124and a render126. The composing and broadcast system130can include a session management component132, a content adaptation component134, and a streaming component136. The content adaptation component134can include one or more analysis engines135. The streaming component136can include one or more video streaming engines137and one or more data streaming engines139.

The player client devices110can include an application, such as a browser or a gaming application to initiate and participate in an online game as a player. When participating in the online game, a player client application110can control one or more avatars in the game. In a multi-player game, separate player client devices110can control separate or distinct avatars. The application can allow initiating a live game streaming session to broadcast a game play online. The online game can be provided by the game engine120.

The game engine120can include a software, running on one or more computing devices, for creating and developing a video game. The game engine120can include a network engine122for communicating with player client devices110. The network engine122can establish communication channels between the game engine120and the player client devices110, upon the player client devices110initiating a game session. The network engine122can transmit video game streams (e.g., each including a respective video stream and a respective audio stream) of the game from the renderer126to the player client devices110. Each player client device110can receive a respective video game stream over a communication channel between that player client device110and the game engine120. For each player client device110, the respective received video game stream can correspond to a viewpoint associated with an avatar controlled by that player client device110. As a user of a player client device110interacts with the game, that player client device110can transmit signals indicative, or indications, of actions taken by the user to the network engine122. The network engine122can forward the received signals or indications the gameplay engine124.

The gameplay engine124can analyze the received signals or indications received from the player client device110to detect game events corresponding to the user actions. For example, the gameplay engine124can detect game events, such as motion, changes in player's viewpoint, collisions, kills, clicks on menu elements, or the like. The gameplay engine124can forward indications of the detected events to the renderer126. The gameplay engine124can also maintain game data, such as scores, equipment, or other information associated with various players or graphical objects in the game. The gameplay engine124can transmit the game data (also referred to herein as metadata) or indications of some of the detected events to the composing and broadcast system130.

The renderer126can generate a video game stream (e.g., including video and audio frames) for each player (or each player client device110), based on the viewpoint and the detected events associated with that player client device110. The renderer126can forward generated video and/or audio frames to the network engine122for steaming to the player client devices110. The renderer126may also generate other video game streams corresponding to additional viewpoints associated with virtual cameras (e.g., not associated with players or player avatars). The renderer126can transmit generated video game frames from the various video game streams128, e.g., associated with players and virtual cameras, to the composing and broadcast system130.

The composing and broadcast system130can include one or more computer servers (e.g., Linux servers) for executing a cluster of virtual servers (both not shown inFIG. 1) for each video/audio stream, e.g., associated with a respective game and a group of players or player client devices110. The composing and broadcast system130can execute a plurality of clusters of virtual servers, associated with a respective plurality of video/audio streams (or game broadcast sessions), simultaneously. The cluster of virtual servers can handle three types of data; commands received either from the game engine120to create (or terminate) a game broadcast session or from spectator client devices150to access the game broadcast session, game and events data received either from the game engine120or collected from the spectator client devices110. The cluster of virtual servers can include three different types of virtual servers for running or executing different types of services (or processes). The three types of virtual servers can include supervisor servers, internal worker servers, and public worker servers. Services provided or executed by the cluster can include streaming services, control services, communication services, authentication services, event services, or a combination thereof.

The supervisor servers can supervise and coordinate the services (or processes) running on the worker servers (e.g., internal ad public worker servers). The supervisor servers can be a small group of micro servers that act as a point of registration and authority, or orchestration, for all the other services. While a single supervisor server may be enough, it may be desirable to have three or more supervisor servers are to achieve high availability of the cluster. The group of supervisor servers can keep the state of orchestration services consistent using, for example, a gossip protocol with a simple majority. The consistency between various supervisor servers with respect to the state of orchestration allows for half of the supervisor servers to go down without affecting the services provided or executed by the cluster. The supervisor servers can run or execute tasks such as, High-Available Key-Value store for configuration, registration service(s), monitoring service(s), scheduler service(s), or a combination thereof. The registration services relate to the mechanisms or tools provided to allow the game engine120or the player client applications110to register or initiate a game broadcast session. Registration service(s) can be exposed to the game engine120(or player client devices110) through a domain name system (DNS) and/or a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) application program interface (API). The supervisor servers can monitor other services (or processes) executed by internal and public worker servers and report the health of the different worker server instances. The scheduler service(s) can include scaling up and down the different services (e.g., executed by the worker servers) and restart them when they go down. The supervisor servers may be designed not to run or execute other tasks (e.g., beyond the tasks described above), instead the supervisor servers can delegate such other tasks to the worker servers.

The internal and public worker servers can be configured to execute and monitor the tasks scheduled by the supervisor servers. The difference between the public and internal workers is that only the public workers can be accessible from an external, unregistered Internet protocol (IP) address. The internal workers can be accessible to a limited set of pre-registered network range (e.g., IP addresses associated with the game engine120), as a security precaution. The public worker servers can be configured to execute processes and tasks related mainly to the spectator client devices150, whereas the internal worker servers can execute processes and tasks associated with the gaming engine120. Given that the number of spectator client devices150can be relatively large (e.g., compared to the number of player client devices110), the cluster can include a larger number of running instances of public worker servers than the internal worker servers. Both public and internal worker servers can run a client version of the orchestration services to report to the supervisor servers. The supervisor servers can be configured to automatically provision, allocate, or de-allocate worker servers as the load of processes (or services) goes up and down. Since, the internal worker servers handle mainly services related to the game engine120, the internal worker servers can have a more stable load than public worker servers. The load of public worker servers can be proportional to the number of spectator client devices150. As spectators connect or drop off, the load of public worker servers can vary dynamically over time.

The use of virtual servers, as described above, to implement the composing and broadcast system130can allow for dynamic system scalability whether in terms of the number of clusters running or the number of virtual servers in each cluster. The composing and broadcast system130may allocate a respective cluster of virtual servers for each initiated game broadcast session, and de-allocate that cluster once the game broadcast session is terminated. Also, as described above, the supervisor servers in each cluster can dynamically allocate or de-allocate worker servers as the load of running services (or the number of spectator client devices150) increases or decreases. In some embodiments, the composing and broadcast system130can be implemented as a software development kit (SDK) that is integrated with the game engine120.

While the implementation of composing and broadcast system described herein is based on virtual servers, such implementations should not be interpreted as limiting, and other implementations are contemplated by embodiments of this disclosure. For example, the composing and broadcast system130can run (or execute) on one or more player client devices110. The player client device(s)110can still transmit the video game stream(s) to the live streaming system140, and transmit game data (or metadata) to one or more engines associated with the live streaming system140for multicasting to the spectator client devices150.

The composing and broadcast system130can include a session management component132. The session management component132can be configured to provide and manage various services (or processes) including control service(s), user authentication service(s), and communication service(s). Control Service(s) can provide the point of entry for the game engine120to other services of the composing and broadcast system130. The control service(s) can allow the game engine120to register a new stream (or new game broadcast session) and request for new channel endpoint. The control service(s) can also provide information about the health of the cluster via an administrative interface associated with, for example, the game engine120. An administrator of the game engine120can monitor and administrate the cluster via the administrative interface. The control service(s) can also provide information related to registered streams (e.g., registered for live streaming) to be published for spectator client devices150or other client devices.

Authentication service(s) (or process(es)) can allow client devices to query the composing and broadcast system130about current streams playing (if any) and to request a new entry point for the streaming service(s) provided by the streaming component136. The communication service(s) (or process(es)) can include handling with the spectator client devices150. In particular, the communication service(s) can include establishing and/or terminating communication channels151with spectator client devices150as such devices connect to or disconnect from the composing and broadcast system130. The established communication channels151can be bi-directional channels for carrying game data received, for example, from the gameplay engine124to spectator client devices150, or carrying user feedback data from the spectator client devices150to the composing and broadcast system130.

The content adaptation component134can be configured to process user feedback data received from the spectator client devices150. The interaction component134can include one or more analysis engines135for analyzing user feedback data received from the spectator client devices150. The analysis engine(s)135can analyze user feedback data received from various spectator client devices150, via communication channels151, to determine aggregate user interest(s) in one or more aspects of the online game. For example, the analysis engine135can detect an interest by a plurality of viewers (or spectators) in a given player (or player avatar), based on received feedback data. The analysis engine135can detect an interest by a plurality of viewers in a given player region (or graphical object) of the virtual environment of the online game, based on received feedback data. The analysis engine135can detect an interest by a plurality of viewers in a given event of the online game associated with set of previously streamed video game frames, based on received feedback data. The analysis engine135can provide indication(s) of detected aggregate user interest to the video streaming engine137(or some other engine of the streaming component136), and to the renderer126(or some other engine within the game engine120). For instance, the analysis engine135can cause the video streaming engine137to start streaming from a different video game stream or a different video game segment than the video game stream or the video game segment it is currently streaming from. Also, the analysis engine135can cause the renderer126to change one or more viewpoints, for example, by zooming in, zooming out, or changing the location and/or orientation of a viewpoint.

The streaming component136can include a plurality of streaming engines including one or more video streaming engines137and one or more data streaming engines139. In some embodiments, the video streaming engine(s)137and the data streaming engine(s) can include (or can be implemented using) public worker servers. The video streaming engine(s)137can receive a plurality of video game streams128from the renderer126, each corresponding to a respective viewpoint. Each received video game stream can include video and audio data. The video streaming engine(s)137can select one of the video game streams, encode respective video and audio frames into compressed video/audio frames, and transmit the compressed video/audio frames to the live streaming system140. The video streaming engine(s)137can encode the video data of the selected video game stream, for example, using H.264/MPEG-4 AVC or some other video compression standard. The video streaming engine(s)137may also encode the audio data of the selected video game stream, for example, using MPEG-2 Audio Layer III (MP3), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), or another audio coding format.

The data streaming engine139can be configured to receive game data received from the gameplay engine124. In some embodiments, the data streaming engine139can generate data frames, based on game data received from the gameplay engine124, according to a predefined format. The data streaming engine139may also filter the game data received from the gameplay engine124when generating the data frames. Each data frame can include a respective timestamp (or time code) to synchronize the data frame with a respective video game (or video/audio) frame. The timestamp associated with each data frame can allow placing that data frame within a game data stream and mapping that data frame to the corresponding video game frame. The data streaming engine139can communicate with the video streaming engine137to coordinate allocation of timestamps to video game frames and data frames. As discussed in further detail below, a data frame can include information indicative of positions(s) of one or more graphical objects within the corresponding video frame, viewpoint information, game event information, list of players or player avatars, or a combination thereof. The data streaming engine(s)139can stream the data frames carrying game data (or metadata) to the plurality of spectator client devices150through respective communication channels151. The data streaming engine(s)139can stream the data frames according to the respective time frames.

The live streaming system140can include a live game streaming platform such as Twitch, Ustream, YouTube Gaming, or the like. The live streaming system140can receive the video game frames from the video streaming engine137, and broadcast the video game frames, e.g., via a respective web page, to the spectator client devices150. The live streaming system140can modify the timestamps of the video game frames before broadcasting to the spectator client devices150.

Each spectator client device150can include an application152for playing the video game stream received from the live streaming system140, and one or more software scripts154for generating and displaying an overlay based at least on the data stream received from the data streaming engine139. The software script(s) can include, for example, a Java script and/or one or more other software modules. The software script154can cause the spectator client device150to scan each data frame received to retrieve the respective timestamp and position information for one or more graphical objects (e.g., one or more player avatars). The software script(s)154can compare the retrieved timestamp to one or more timestamps associated with the video game frames to map the scanned data frame to the corresponding video game frame. Since the data stream and the video game stream are received from distinct sources through distinct communications paths, the spectator client device150may apply techniques described synchronization techniques described in the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/352,433, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR UTILIZING CLIENT-SIDE SYNCHRONIZATION OF VIDEO AND OVERLAY,”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Upon determining a video frame corresponding to the scanned data frame, the software script(s)154can cause the spectator client device150to display an interactive overlay over the determined video frame, based on the position of a graphical object in the determined video game frame. In some embodiments, the software script(s)154can cause the spectator client device150to display a plurality of interactive overlays, for example, each associated with a respective player avatar. The user of the spectator client device150can interact with the interactive overlay, for example, by clicking, touching, or hovering over the graphical object (or a screen area associated therewith) whose position is used to place the interactive overlay over the determined video frame.

The interactive overlay can allow the user of the spectator client device150to interact with the displayed video game frames in a variety of ways. Also, synchronizing the interactive overlay temporally and spatially with a graphical object (e.g., a player avatar) can allow the spectator users to customize or personalize their views of the game (e.g., local customization at the spectator client device150) in a meaningful an fun way, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/352,421, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF VIDEO GAME STREAMING WITH INTERACTIVE OVERLAY AND ADDITIONAL DATA”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The software script(s)154can cause the spectator client device150to transmit indications of user interactions with the overlay and or indications of user comments (e.g., via chat) to the composing and broadcast system130. The software script(s)154can cause the spectator client device150to monitor and record interactions with the interactive overlay(s). The software script(s)154can cause the client device150to process chat data associated with chat messages with other client devices150, for example, to extract predefined keywords. The software script(s)154may also cause the client device150to process audio signals received from a microphone communicatively coupled to the client device. The audio signals can be representative of audible user speech while watching the video game steam. The software script(s)154may include speech recognition tools to identify predefined keywords in the audio signals. The software script(s)154can cause the client device150to generate user feedback data based on the recorded user interactions and/or keywords identified in chat messages and/or audio signals. The generated feedback data represent a concise summary of user interactions and user comments. The composing and broadcast system130can use such indications, for example, to adapt or change the video game stream streamed to the spectator client devices150.

FIG. 2is a graphical representation200of several example data streams205a-205i(generally referred to as data streams205), according to some embodiments. The data streams205are shown along a time (or timecode) axis which starts from zero on the left hand side ofFIG. 2. Each data stream205can include one or more data chunks, each of which corresponds to a particular time instant/interval (or timecode). The video and audio streams205aand205bcan be generated and provided by the renderer126, whereas the streams205c-ican be transmitted by the gameplay engine124to the data streaming engine139.

Since the renderer126can generate and provide a plurality of video game streams (e.g., each including a video stream205aand an audio stream205b) associated with the plurality of viewpoints, the gameplay engine124can provide a single instance of each the streams205c-ior can provide a plurality of instances of at least one of the streams205c-i. For instance, the gameplay engine124can provide a plurality of streams205f, each associated with a respective viewpoint128. In some embodiments, the gameplay engine124can provide the data streaming engine139with a separate set of streams205e-gor205e-ffor each viewpoint128.

Each of the streams205can include a common stream identifier (ID). The stream ID can be indicative of (or can identify) the stream registered, e.g., for live streaming, by the player client devices110or by the game engine120. For instance, upon request from one of the player client devices110to live stream the respective game play, the game engine120can initiate stream or game play) registration with the composing and broadcast system130. The game engine120may, for example, identify a video frame rate and/or a bit rate as part of the stream (or game play) registration process. The composing and broadcast system130can assign a stream ID to identify all streams205associated with game play. The composing and broadcast system130can provide the assigned stream ID to the game engine120, and the gameplay engine124and the renderer126can insert the stream ID in all streams205. The stream ID can allow the composing and the broadcast system130to map the streams205to one another and to the game play associated with the player client device(s)110.

Also, the gameplay engine124and the renderer126may insert a respective timestamp in each data chunk of the streams205. For example, the gameplay engine124and the renderer126may embed the timestamps (or timecode information) in a header associated with each data chunk. The time stamps can allow streaming video and audio frames as well as data chunks/frames to spectator client devices in the right order. Also, the timestamps can allow computing devices receiving the data streams205(or data associated therewith) to synchronize the data chunks across various data streams205. It should be understood thatFIG. 2is illustrative only, and that in some implementations, additional or different data streams205may be included without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

The data streaming engine139can generate one or more game data streams, for example, based on data in streams205c-i, for streaming to the spectator client devices150via the respective channels151. For example, the data streaming engine139can generate a single game data stream by combining concurrent data chunks from streams205c-i(or a subset thereof) into a single data frame210. The generated game data stream can include data frames210that coincide in time and duration with the video frames in the stream205b. The size of the data frames210can vary over time. For example, event data from stream205g, which indicates events occurring in the game, may not appear in each data frame210. Also, the Game.Start data stream205ccan include a single data chunk associated with timecode 0, which can mark the beginning of the video game. Similarly, the Players.List data stream205dcan include a single data chunk associated with timecode 0. The Players.List data stream205dcan include information such as a total number of players in the video game, as well as information relating to each of the players, such as unique identification information (e.g., respective avatar name) and character information for each player. The Game.Start data and the Players.List data may appear, for example, only in the first data frame210of the data stream generated by the data streaming engine139. The data streaming engine139can insert the stream ID and a single timestamp (e.g., timestamp from corresponding Players.Positions data chunk or corresponding Viewport.Matrix data chunk) in each data frame210. Also, the same stream ID can be embedded (e.g., by the rendered126or the video streaming engine137) in the corresponding game video stream provided to the live streaming system140.

The data streaming engine139can generate the game data stream in one of various other ways. For example, the data streaming engine139may generate a first game data stream including only Players.Positions data from stream205eand Viewport.Matrix data from stream205f. The Players.Positions data stream205ecan include data indicative of the positions of the various players (or player avatars) within a virtual environment of the video game. For a given player avatar (or graphical object) in the online game, the respective Players.Positions data can be indicative of a pixel region (e.g., a rectangle) representative of the location of that player avatar (or graphical object) in a specific video frame of the stream205b. The Viewport.Matrix data stream205fcan include information related to the viewpoint128associated with the video stream205a. The data streaming engine139may embed Viewport.Matrix data associated with various players (player avatars) and/or various virtual cameras in the online game in each data frame210.

Because the position of each player may change in every video frame, the Players.Positions data stream205ecan be updated at the same rate as the video data stream205b. This information also can be expected to change at the same rate as the video data stream205band the Players.Positions data stream205e. Like the Players.Positions data stream205e, the Viewport.Matrix data stream205falso can be updated at the same rate as the video data stream205b.

The Game.Kill data stream205gcan include information relating to the elimination (or killing) of players (or player avatars) from the video game. This data is asynchronous and non-continuous, because it is only updated as players are eliminated from the video game. In some implementations, each data chunk of the Game.Kill data stream205hcan include an identification of the player who has been eliminated. In some implementations, the information included in the Game.Kill data stream205gcan be used along with the information in the Players.List data stream205dto track the number of players who are still remaining in the game. In general, the data stream205gcan be indicative of game events (e.g., not necessarily restricted to killing events) and may be referred to as Events data stream205g. The game events' data can include additional information for various players, such as respective game scores, equipment, health states, emotional states, the like, or a combination thereof.

The Game.Camera data stream205hcan include information relating to the viewpoint128corresponding to the video game stream selected and transmitted from the composing and broadcast system130to the live streaming system140for display on the spectator client devices150. In some implementations, a new data chunk may be included in the Game.Camera data stream205heach time the selected video game stream or the corresponding viewpoint128(or camera perspective) provided to spectators changes. When the video game stream selected for broadcasting to client devices150changes, the video streaming engine137can halt transmitting streaming video/audio frames from the previously selected stream and start transmitting video/audio frames from the new selected stream to the live streaming system140for broadcasting to the client devices150. In some implementations, the camera perspective shown to spectators may be the same as the perspective seen by one of the individual players as identified by the Viewport.Matrix data stream205f. However, in some instances, the camera perspective shown to spectators may correspond to a virtual camera that is not associated with any of the individual players.

The Game.End data stream205iincludes a single data chunk, which can mark the end of the video game. In some implementations, the data chunk for the Game.End data stream205ican be sent after every player has been eliminated from the game. In some other implementations, the data chunk for the Game.End data stream205ican be sent after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the start of the game, even if there are players who have not yet been eliminated from the game.

In some embodiments, the data streaming engine139can generate a second game data stream based on the streams205c,205d, and205g-i. The data streaming engine139can combine data chunks from these streams to generate an asynchronous stream indicative of various events associated with the online game. In some embodiments, the data streaming engine139can stream the streams205c-iseparately to the spectator client devices150, for example, through various logic communication channels.

FIG. 3shows a diagram illustrating a user interface (UI)300for displaying video game data on a client device, according to some embodiments. The UI300can include a first display window310for displaying video frames302and a second display window320for displaying chat messages. The video frame302can include a plurality of graphical objects306, each associated with a respective overlay304. The overlays304can be transparent (e.g., the dashed rectangles do not show up on the screen). Each interactive overlay304can be positioned over a respective graphical object306. Each interactive overlay304can include a respective cursor-like triangle308pointing to respective player avatars306. The cursor-like triangle308(or some other animation element) can indicate the presence of the corresponding overlay304, or can be indicate to a user of the client device150that the corresponding graphical object306is selectable. Upon the user of the spectator client device150selecting (e.g., clicking on, touching or hovering over) a pixel area associated with one of the interactive overlays304, the one or more scripts154can cause the spectator client device150to display an animation object312(e.g., a disc) in the vicinity of (e.g., over, on top of, or adjacent to) the selected graphical object306(e.g., a player avatar).

The one or more software scripts154can extract a timestamp from each game data frame received from the composing and broadcast system130, and compare the extracted timestamp to one or more video timestamps associated with video game frames received from the live streaming system140. To account for different time delays associated with game data stream and the video data stream, the one or more software scripts154can employ the synchronization techniques described in the in the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/352,433, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR UTILIZING CLIENT-SIDE SYNCHRONIZATION OF VIDEO AND OVERLAY,”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Also, the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/352,421, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF VIDEO GAME STREAMING WITH INTERACTIVE OVERLAY AND ADDITIONAL DATA” is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The one or more software scripts154can also extract the position information (e.g., coordinates of various vertices of a pixel region defining a location of a player's avatar) for various graphical objects306from the game data frame, and use the extracted position information to determine the position of each interactive overlay304. The interactive overlay(s)304can include a HyperText Markup Language (HTML) overlay.

WhileFIG. 3shows the interactive overlay304to include a cursor-like triangle308, according to other implementations, the interactive overlay304can include various shapes or animation objects to show to the user the presence of an interactive overlay304associated with a given graphical object306, such as a player avatar. Also, when a graphical object306(e.g., a player avatar) is selected, the one or more software scripts154can employ various other animation objects or visual features (e.g., apart from the disc shown inFIG. 3) in the corresponding interactive overlay304to indicate the selection of that graphical object306. Such animation object312and the corresponding overlay304can overlap the corresponding graphical object in each video following video frame. In some embodiments, upon selection of a given graphical object306(e.g., a player avatar), the one or more software scripts154can cause the spectator client device150to display game information associated with the selected graphical object306(e.g., a game score, equipment or armory, health state, emotional state, or a combination thereof). In some embodiments, the one or more software scripts154can cause the spectator client device150to enable customization of a selected graphical object306. For example, the client device150can display one or more animation objects (e.g., objects indicative of eye glasses, hat, mask, costume, gun, sword, etc.). Upon the user selecting one of the animation objects, the one or more software scripts154can cause the spectator client device150to add the selected animation object to the overlay associated with the selected graphical object306. To provide accurate customization, the game engine120may provide position and/or orientation information of a body part (e.g., head, eyes, arm, leg, etc.) for various player avatars as part of the game data. Using such information from the received game data, the client device150can accurately position the selected animation object relative to the avatar's body position and/or orientation in each video frame.

The one or more scripts154can cause the client device150to record or store indications of user interactions with the interactive overlays304. For example, each time the user of the client device150interacts with a given overlay (e.g., by clicking, touching, hovering over, or customizing), the client device150can store a record including an indication of that overlay (or corresponding graphical object), the time of interaction, the type of interaction, or a combination thereof. In the case of player avatar customization, the client device150may store an indication of the type of customization.

The one or more scripts154can cause the client device150to monitor chat messages with other client devices150. The client device150can process chat data in chat messages to extract predefined keywords, such player names (e.g., “JHoule” in the chat messages shown inFIG. 3), or terms expressing interest (e.g., “nice,” “replay,” “magnificent,” “horrible,” etc.). The predefined keywords can be provided by the composing and broadcast system130at the beginning of the streaming (e.g., with the players' list). In some embodiments, the client device150may map each extracted keyword to a respective viewer (e.g., the viewer associated with the chat message where the keyword appears). In some embodiments, each client device150may extract only keywords associated with its user (e.g., only chat messages sent to other client devices150).

The one or more scripts154can cause the client device150to received audio input signals from a microphone communicative coupled to the client device. The audio signals can include audible expressions made by the user of the client device150while watching the online game. The one or more scripts154can cause the client device150to employ speech recognition techniques to translate the audio input signals into text, and extract one or more predefined keywords from the text.

In order to reduce the amount of data transmitted to the composing and broadcast system130, the software script(s)154can cause the client device150to map the extracted keywords (e.g., from chat messages or from text generated based on speech signals) and the interactions' records to a predefined set (or predefined classes) of user reactions. The classes (or types) of user interactions can, for example, include “like,” “replay,” “love,” “sad,” and “mad.” The client device150can map user comments and interactions recorded within a time interval to feedback data fields, each including a player (or graphical object) ID, a user reaction class, and a numerical value indicative of a count, a maximum value, minimum value, sum, average, or the like. For instance, the data field [“player 1,” “like,” “8”] can be indicative of eight “like” type reactions made by the user of the client device150with regard to player 1. The client device150can determine (or compute) a number of interactions with an overlay associated with “player 1” (or a respective avatar) and/or a number of keywords indicative of “like” reaction towards “player 1” to construct the data field. Using such data fields, the client device can generate significantly concise feedback data for sending to the composing and broadcast system130. Furthermore, the software script(s)154can cause the client device150report user feedback data every 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, or other time duration. The client device150can reduce user interactions and comments data collected during each time interval into one or more feedback data fields, and transmit the feedback data fields to the composing and broadcast system130. It should be appreciated that other forms of feedback data fields may be defined and used.

The analysis engine135can receive feedback back fields from various client devices150. The analysis engine135can analyze the feedback data received from various client devices150to determine aggregate user interests. For instance, the analysis engine135can determine a total count of user reactions per reaction class per player (or graphical object). For example, the analysis engine may compute the total number of “likes” for “player 1” considering feedback data from all client devices150. The analysis engine135may also generate a heat map by mapping a total number of reactions for each player (or graphical object) per reaction class to a location in the virtual environment of the game associated with that player in the last time interval (e.g., last 10 seconds, last 20 seconds, last 30 seconds, last 60 seconds, etc.).

The analysis engine135can identify one or more video game streams128based on the analysis results. For example, if a relatively large number of viewers like “player 1,” the analysis engine135may identify a video game stream128associated with a viewpoint corresponding to “player 1” as preferable video game stream. If both “player 1” and “player 2” are associated with a large number of “likes,” (or a region in the heat map is associated with a large number of “likes”), then the analysis engine135may identify a video game stream associated with a virtual camera showing both “player 1” and “player 2” (or showing a region indicated in the heat map to be associated with a large number of “likes”) as a preferred video game stream. If a large number of ‘replay” reactions are received from various viewers, the analysis engine135may identify a previous segment (e.g., the last 60 second or the last 2 minutes) of the video game stream currently being streamed as preferred for streaming. In some instances, the analysis engine135may identify more than one video game stream based on the analysis results (e.g., aggregate viewers' feedback indicates interest in two or more players).

The analysis engine135can determine a modification to one or more viewpoints based on the analysis results. The analysis engine135can determine an adjustment to parameters of one or more virtual cameras to achieve a view that spans (or shows) multiple player avatars or a given region of the virtual environment of the online game that the viewers are interested in. For example, the analysis engine135may determine a zoom out or zoom in action for one or more virtual cameras of the online game. The analysis engine135may determine a new position and/or orientation for one or more virtual cameras. In some instances, the analysis engine135may determine a motion path for one or more virtual cameras, for example, to track one or more player avatars or an on-going game event of the online game. Furthermore, the analysis engine135may identify new resolution(s) or format(s) for one or more video game streams. For example, the analysis engine135may determine that two or more video game streams are to be presented to spectator client devices150as picture-in-picture or according to a split-screen format (e.g., each reduced resolution video game stream can be displayed in a half-screen or quadrant-screen region).

The analysis engine135can then send indication(s) of the identified video game stream(s) and/or video game segment(s) (e.g., in case of replay) to the video streaming engine137. In response, the video streaming engine137can switch to streaming the identified video game stream(s). For example, if the video streaming engine137is streaming video game frames from “stream 1,” and receives an indication (or identifier) of “stream 3,” then the video streaming engine135can halt streaming video game frames from “stream 1” and starts streaming video game frames from “stream 3.” Also, if an indication of a video segment in the video game stream being streamed is received (e.g., indication of replay), the video streaming engine135can start streaming video game frames from the indicated video segment. The video streaming engine135can inform the data streaming engine139of the change (or switch) to the new video game stream.

The analysis engine135can send indication(s) of new parameters (or changes to existing parameters) for one or more video game streams to the renderer126or the game engine120. In response, the game engine120or the renderer126can generate at least one video game stream according to the new parameters. For example, the renderer126can generate one or more video game streams associated with new (or modified) viewpoint(s), moving viewpoint(s), new (or modified) resolution(s), new (or modified) format (e.g., picture-in-picture format or split-screen format), or a combination thereof. The renderer126can provided the generated video game stream(s) to the video streaming engine137for broadcasting to the spectator client devices150via the live streaming system140.

In some embodiments, the video streaming engine137may switch to streaming video game frames from two streams simultaneously, if indication of two streams are received from analysis engine135. For example, the video streaming engine137may resize video frames associated with at least one of the two streams to allow display of both streams in separate display windows or allow display of one stream embedded in the other.

FIG. 4shows a flow diagram illustrating a method400of providing adaptable live video game streaming, according to some embodiments. The method400can include selecting a video game stream from a plurality of video game streams associated with distinct viewpoints of an online game (ACT402), and transmitting a first plurality of video game frames of the selected video game stream to a live streaming system streaming to a plurality of client devices associated with a respective plurality of spectators of the online game (ACT404). The method400can include streaming a plurality of data frames, including overly positioning information, to the plurality of client devices (ACT406). The method400can include receiving user feedback data from the plurality of client devices responsive to display of the first plurality of video game frames on the plurality of client devices (ACT408). The method400can include analyzing the received feedback data to determine an aggregate user interest in a portion of video game content associated with the plurality of video game streams (ACT410), transmitting a second plurality of video game frames associated with the portion of video game content to the live streaming system for streaming to the plurality of client devices (ACT412).

The method400can include the selecting a video game stream from a plurality of video game streams associated with distinct viewpoints of an online game (ACT402), and transmitting a first plurality of video game frames of the selected video game stream to a live streaming system streaming to a plurality of client devices associated with a respective plurality of spectators of the online game (ACT404). Upon receiving a request to register a game play for live streaming, the composing and broadcast system130can assign a stream ID to the game play and provide the stream ID to the game engine120. As the game is progressing, the game engine120can generate a plurality of video games streams, each associated with a respective viewpoint. Each viewpoint can be associated with a player of the game or a virtual camera in the virtual environment of the game. Each video game stream can include a respective video stream and a respective audio stream. The game engine120can provide the generated frames of the plurality of video game streams to the composing and broadcast system130as they are generated, in real time. The video streaming engine137can receive video and audio frames of the plurality of video games streams. The composing and broadcast system130can select a video game stream among the plurality of video game streams for broadcasting to a plurality of client devices150for viewing. The video streaming engine137can compress video and audio frames of the selected video game stream to generate a compressed video/audio stream. The video streaming engine137can transmit compressed video/audio frames to the live streaming system140, for live streaming to the plurality of client devices150. The live streaming system can stream compressed video/audio frames of the selected video game stream to the plurality of client devices150.

The method400can include streaming a plurality of data frames, including overly positioning information, to the plurality of client devices (ACT406). The data streaming engine139can generate data frames as discussed above with regard toFIGS. 1 and 2. Each data frame can correspond to a respective video game frame transmitted to the live streaming system140for broadcasting to the client devices150. Each data frame can include position information of one or more graphical objects (or player avatar(s)) indicative of the position(s) of the graphical object(s) in the respective video frame. Such positioning information can be used by client devices150to position one or more interactive overlays over displayed video frames.

The method400can include The method400can include receiving, user feedback data from the plurality of client devices responsive to display of the first plurality of video game frames on the plurality of client devices (ACT408), and analyzing the received feedback data to determine an aggregate user interest in a portion of video game content associated with the plurality of video game streams (ACT410). User feedback data can be generated at the client devices responsive to user interactions with the interactive overlays or user comments as discussed with regard toFIG. 3above. The analysis engine135can analyze feedback data received from various client devices150to determine aggregate user interest in one or more aspects of the online game (e.g., as discussed with respect toFIG. 3above). The analysis engine135can determine a switch from one video game stream to another, a switch from one video segment to another, a modification in viewpoint of a given video game stream, a change in resolution and/or format of a given video game stream, or a combination thereof, based on the analysis results.

The method400can include transmitting a second plurality of video game frames associated with a portion of video game content associated with the one or more aspects of the online game to the live streaming system for streaming to the plurality of client devices (ACT412). As discussed above with regard toFIG. 3, the video steaming engine135can switch from one video game stream (currently streamed) to one or more other streams, or replay a video segment from the current video game stream, responsive to the analysis results. The game engine120can generate a video game stream, or video game frames thereof, according to new parameters (or parameter adjustments) received from the analysis engine135(e.g., modified or new viewpoint position, modified or new viewpoint orientation, modified or new resolution, modified or new format, or a combination thereof) of one or more video game streams for broadcasting to spectator client devices150.

FIG. 5is a block diagram of a computer system500that can be used to implement the player client devices110, the game engine120or components thereof, the composing and broadcast system130or components thereof, the spectator client devices150, or other components described herein. The computing system500includes a bus505or other communication component for communicating information and a processor510coupled to the bus505for processing information. The computing system500can also include one or more processors510coupled to the bus for processing information. The computing system500also includes main memory515, such as a RAM or other dynamic storage device, coupled to the bus505for storing information, and instructions to be executed by the processor510. Main memory515can also be used for storing position information, temporary variables, or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by the processor510. The computing system500may further include a ROM520or other static storage device coupled to the bus505for storing static information and instructions for the processor510. A storage device525, such as a solid state device, magnetic disk or optical disk, is coupled to the bus505for persistently storing information and instructions. Computing device500may include, but is not limited to, digital computers, such as laptops, desktops, workstations, personal digital assistants, servers, blade servers, mainframes, cellular telephones, smart phones, mobile computing devices (e.g., a notepad, e-reader, etc.) etc.

The computing system500may be coupled via the bus505to a display535, such as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Thin-Film-Transistor LCD (TFT), an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display, LED display, Electronic Paper display, Plasma Display Panel (PDP), or other display, etc., for displaying information to a user. An input device530, such as a keyboard including alphanumeric and other keys, may be coupled to the bus505for communicating information and command selections to the processor510. In another implementation, the input device530may be integrated with the display535, such as in a touch screen display. The input device530can include a cursor control, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys, for communicating direction information and command selections to the processor510and for controlling cursor movement on the display535.

According to some implementations, the processes or methods described herein can be implemented by the computing system500in response to the processor510executing an arrangement of instructions contained in main memory515. Such instructions can be read into main memory515from another computer-readable medium, such as the storage device525. Execution of the arrangement of instructions contained in main memory515causes the computing system550to perform the illustrative processes or method ACTs described herein. One or more processors in a multi-processing arrangement may also be employed to execute the instructions contained in main memory515. In alternative implementations, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to effect illustrative implementations. Thus, implementations are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

Although an implementation of a computing system500has been described inFIG. 5, implementations of the subject matter and the functional operations described in this specification can be implemented in other types of digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them.

Some embodiments can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software embodied on a tangible medium, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Some embodiments can be implemented as one or more computer programs, e.g., one or more modules of computer program instructions, encoded on one or more computer storage media for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or in addition, the program instructions can be encoded on an artificially-generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal that is generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus for execution by a data processing apparatus. A computer storage medium can be, or be included in, a computer-readable storage device, a computer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memory array or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Moreover, while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, a computer storage medium can be a source or destination of computer program instructions encoded in an artificially-generated propagated signal. The computer storage medium can also be, or be included in, one or more separate components or media (e.g., multiple CDs, disks, or other storage devices). Accordingly, the computer storage medium is both tangible and non-transitory.

The operations described in this specification can be performed by a data processing apparatus on data stored on one or more computer-readable storage devices or received from other sources.

The terms “data processing apparatus,” “computing device,” or “processing circuit” encompass all kinds of apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multiple ones, a portion of a programmed processor, or combinations of the foregoing. The apparatus can include special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA or an ASIC. The apparatus can also include, in addition to hardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtime environment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of them. The apparatus and execution environment can realize various different computing model infrastructures, such as web services, distributed computing and grid computing infrastructures.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, software application, script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative or procedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for performing actions in accordance with instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer need not have such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game console, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device (e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive), to name just a few. Devices suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, implementations of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD monitor, for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular implementations. Certain features described in this specification in the context of separate implementations can also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single implementation can also be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the implementations described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products embodied on tangible media.

References to “or” may be construed as inclusive so that any terms described using “or” may indicate any of a single, more than one, and all of the described terms. References to at least one of a conjunctive list of terms may be construed as an inclusive OR to indicate any of a single, more than one, and all of the described terms. For example, a reference to “at least one of ‘A’ and ‘B’” can include only ‘A’, only ‘B’, as well as both ‘A’ and ‘B’. Where technical features in the drawings, detailed description or any claim are followed by reference identifiers, the reference identifiers have been included to increase the intelligibility of the drawings, detailed description, and claims. Accordingly, neither the reference identifiers nor their absence have any limiting effect on the scope of any claim elements.

Thus, particular implementations of the subject matter have been described. Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.

The claims should not be read as limited to the described order or elements unless stated to that effect. It should be understood that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. All implementations that come within the spirit and scope of the following claims and equivalents thereto are claimed.